Sakura: Demon of The Leaf
Chapter 1: Am I a Monster?
"I didn't do anything wrong, stop hurting me!" the five year old Sakura cried as she found herself cornered into an alleyway, tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't understand what those mean villagers wanted to hurt her, she was just wanted to play at the playground with the other kids. But instead she was chased by those mean villagers who called her names and hit her.
"You're a demon, a monster. You killed our wives, husbands and children, it's time for us to fight back and kill you before you harm anyone else" spat a husky villager cracking his knuckles glaring daggers into the pink haired Jinchuuriki backed up by several men and women cheering him on and ready to help him out in the 'justice' they felt so righteous to exact upon the child who housed the Nine Tailed Fox.
"P-please stop… I'm not a monster, I'm not a monster" Sakura pleaded between sobs afraid that she was going to die for being something she wasn't.
"Get her!" Shouted the husky villager as he and the others prepared to attack. Had it not been for the Kunai thrown barely an inch away from his feet Sakura would have been killed.
"Back off and leave her alone" called out a female voice who revealed herself to be Anko Mitarashi after she leapt down from the rooftops in front of the young girl, clearly in no mood to be messed with by the villager's judge, jury and executioner complex.
"Well look who it is, the snake whore and the demon brat. Two birds with one stone if you ask me" Chuckled one of the female villagers well aware of Anko's connection to Orochimaru.
"Try it and I'll fuck you up" Anko snarled as she armed herself with a kunai pointed towards the civilians that weren't backing down. After all, the fools believed that they had strength in numbers.
The villagers were about to rush in and strike had it not been for the sudden pressure of a blade against the ringleader's throat.
"If I were you, I would do as she says"
"A-a-ANBU!?" stammered the husky villager sweating nervously as he knew that the ANBU Black Ops were some of the most powerful Ninja in the village. The followers of this fat man soon turned and scattered off in fear leaving him to face the music that the masked ninja would dish out.
"L-le-LET ME GO!" demanded the villager trying to sound intimidating despite fear being ever present in his voice due to his stuttering.
"hmm… well I suppose seeing as you were about to kill an innocent child perhaps I too should lead by example and kill you before you harm anyone else" the ANBU stated calmly while the villager panted heavily closing his eyes and hoping that the ANBU didn't hurt him.
"N-NO! S-s-stop… I give up, I GIVE UP!" The man shouted to which the Dog masked ANBU let go of him allowing Anko to have a little 'chat' with the villager after he fell to the floor about to suffer a panic attack.
"If I ever see you within ten feet of this girl again, I will castrate you and make sure that you will never breed again. Do I make myself clear?" Anko whispered quietly with a seething tone to her quiet voice making the villager nod his head fearfully before he scrambled away like the pathetic welp he was.
Sighing heavily the ANBU turned to see the frightened Jinchuuriki crying her eyes out as tears spilled over her whisker marked cheeks probably scared of the ANBU mask he wore.
"Anko Nee-chan" Sakura cried as she tightly hugged her leg, sobbing while Anko cuddled the Jinchuuriki.
"Don't worry Sakura-chan, you're gonna be okay kiddo" Anko spoke comforting the child while Sakura's sobs quietened as she hiccupped. Removing his ANBU mask Sakura saw the only other person who ever truly cared about her.
"Kashi Nee-san" Sakura said, calling the Copy Ninja by her nickname before Kakashi too joined in on the hug, cocooning the Nine Tailed Container with the two people who loved her the most.
"Sakura-chan, can you tell me what happened?" Kakashi asked once the pink haired girl calmed down.
"I-… I just wanted to play on the playground with the other k-kids but then the b-bad people chased me and said mean things to me and hit me" Sakura sobbed as she wiped the tears from her eyes.
Kakashi gave a sad sigh as he tussled Sakura's pink hair.
"We are not leaving her alone tonight after what she's been through" Anko spoke sternly with a solemn nod from her boyfriend. Knowing a way to cheer Sakura up Kakashi decided to humour the Jinchuuriki.
"Sakura-chan, would you like a piggyback ride?" Kakashi asked as he gave her one of his trademark eye smiles™ making the young girl give a warm smile in return.
Pouncing on the Copy Ninja's back Sakura giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck,
"Mush!" Sakura commanded almost cheerily as she tried to hide the sadness behind a wall of happiness as Kakashi let her have a piggyback ride. She loved that he always let her ride on his back when she was sad or when the villagers called her mean names.
Sliding his ANBU mask back on Kakashi felt a fatherly sense of pride in making Sakura smile. In a perfect world he would have loved to have seen himself the girl's adoptive father and giving her piggyback rides from The Academy. It truly brightened up Kakashi's day when he could just spend time with the Jinchuuriki child and see her smile.
"Well go on dog boy, mush!" Anko teased slapping his ass making Kakashi glad that nobody could see the blood dripping from his nose, knowing how openly perverse Anko was about things.
Opting to take to the rooftops in order to avoid civilian vitriol Sakura felt the breeze of the wind blow across her face and through her hair, enjoying the thrill of moving at high speeds. Letting out an energetic 'WHEEEEEEEEEEEE', Sakura squealed in delight as she held on tight to Kakashi's back while the two blasted through the Hidden Leaf Village at incredible speeds.
"Faster Kashi-Nee-san faster" Sakura said laughing and having the time of her life.
Shortly thereafter Sakura arrived back to her home, an apartment that was graciously given to her by the man in the funny hat and robes. He was another person that wasn't mean to her.
On the odd occasion Sakura would see him visit her every six weeks. every time Sakura saw him she noticed that the villagers who were usually mean to her loved him like a king.
But maybe that was the thing that made her so nervous around him. He looked at her with pity, like she was a responsibility for him to deal with, not an actual person with feelings. The only two people Sakura could say loved her very much were Anko Nee-chan and Kakashi-nee-san. They tried to be there for her as much as possible and made the bad people go away.
Unfortunately such a harsh reality often set itself in as Sakura's place of residence was often vandalised with minor damages to property and possessions. But those words on the walls of her bedroom hurt worst of all.
DIE
MONSTER
DEMON CUNT
DEVIL CHILD
Such words made Sakura feel alone even in a place that should've felt like home.
Feeling tired Kakashi managed to clear away whatever debris and trash that was strewn about the place and allowed her to sleep on her bed as she took Anko's trench coat as a blanket seeing as Sakura's was 'missing' from her bed.
"The next time I see the hokage-baka I'm gonna rip him a new asshole for doing jack shit for her" Anko growled as she and her boyfriend walked into the living room, leaving the sleeping five year old to slumber peacefully.
"Minato-sensei does everything he can to help her out, but he has other responsibilities to deal with on top of that" Kakashi replied unsure of his stance on Minato's guilt trip in making Sakura the human sacrifice over his son.
"Yeah but there's so much more he could do to help her, I mean for Kami's sake why not let us adopt her? We've been the only one's who have ever bothered to care for Sakura not as a responsibility but as her own person" Anko said, her tone expressing frustration at the Hokage's bizarre reasoning for keeping things the way they were for the pink haired Jinchuuriki.
"Politics…" Kakashi sighed heavily. "It's always politics. That's why they won't let us adopt Sakura" Kakashi stated causing Anko to tilt her head in curiosity non-verbally cuing the copy ninja to continue.
"Anko-chan, from what I've been able to gather Minato-sensei is only doing this to keep the peace between clans. They're all divided on letting Sakura live in Konoha, exile her, kill her or worse…" Kakashi explained as Anko's eyes widened slightly as she caught onto what her boyfriend was implying with the word 'worse'.
"Breeding stock" Anko stated, seething in tone as disgust for the Hidden Leaf Village began to set in.
"Right, but it's the clans like that of the Hyuugas, Uchiha's, Yamanakas and the Shimura clans who feel that she should be executed… well save one anyway" Kakashi added as his thoughts turned to the Warhawk Danzo and the sick twisted things he would have had in mind for Sakura if he ever got his wrinkled old hands on her.
"Fuck em, who gives a shit what clans think, Sakura's not a demon or a monster she's a human being just like… me" Anko cursed before faltering as she rubbed the back of her neck, feeling the place where her curse seal was located.
"Look, I don't like this any more than you do Anko-chan but we have to keep persisting. it might take long but if we can convince the Hokage to let us adopt Sakura we both can give her the love she needs and the training to protect herself from those bastards who want to hurt her" Kakashi responded still trying to remain hopeful despite the couple's situation whilst he hugged the Snake Mistress.
Even if that hope was slim, it brought a graceful smile to the couple's faces.
xXx
"What I wouldn't give for the naive days when I thought being Hokage just meant protecting people" Minato sighed as he slumped into his chair as he began rubbing his temples. The Fourth Hokage had not only been under more mentally taxing thanks to his arch nemesis paper work, but also the growing tensions within the village itself.
Most notably with Fugaku Uchiha.
The clan head had been pushing Minato for more of an influence over the affairs of the village. Old wounds that hadn't healed from the time of Tobirama's time as Hokage Minato had mused.
But much like his predecessor the Fourth had been troubled by what Fugaku might have done with a larger influence.
Minato knew that Fugaku wished to preserve peace in the village just as much as anyone else but Minato saw the resentment seeping through the cracks. Understandable to some extent but dangerous if somebody so unstable and easily set off were in a position of power. Then again Fugaku had been like that since the Academy, only now the consequences would've been much more dire should the Uchiha clan head make a fatal mistake.
But solving this problem was coming much tougher than Minato had suspected. He could give the clan more of an influence in the affairs of the village which would strengthen the ties Konoha had with the world famous Uchiha clan but in the process alienate some of the other clans, most notably the Hyuuga clan.
To have created one benefit to the village would have deprived the Fourth Hokage of the other. And it was through this that Minato began to realise the true meaning of what it is to be a leader. Sometimes you have to make decisions… even if those decisions might not be the right ones you must make those hard choices for the sake of those you wish to protect, even if it means damning others in the process.
It was then that a sudden pang of guilt flashed in Minato's mind, a feeling he had come to know well after the Nine Tail's attack Five years ago.
A moment of weakness that lead the Fourth Hokage to a near breaking point as he had to bear Anko and Kakashi's reports (or rather their infuriated rants) about the pain and suffering Sakura felt and how he could only do what little he really could for the Nine Tailed Jinchuuriki.
But this was just another example of walking the moral tightrope as a village Kage.
Had Naruto have been in the place of Sakura he would have been under the protection of his father and mother, a Hokage and an Uzumaki, Naruto would have grown up loved by the village and more than likely end up becoming a great shinobi in his own right despite his status as a demon container.
But Sakura came from a family who wasn't even a Ninja clan or a well respected name in general. They were more or less a civilian family by the time of the Nine Tailed Fox's attack, both Kizashi and Mebuki just wished to live in peace and raise a family holding the belief that the life of a shinobi was one that to them at least felt like one worthless fight after another. Minato couldn't blame them after what happened during the Third Shinobi World War.
But now... Sakura had almost nobody. She was subjected to abuse both verbal and physical, never knowing who her parents were and suffered the curse of being a Jinchuuriki alone. Minato didn't want to believe that one day Sakura might snap and begin to mercilessly kill villagers like the rumours Minato had heard about Suna's Jinchuuriki holding the One Tailed Beast Shukaku.
As much as the Fourth Hokage had hated to admit it, if it did indeed come to such a violent extreme then he was prepared to lock her up in a seal ridden prison he called 'The Cage.' But it still baffled the Hokage as to why the villagers were so quick to pass judgement on Sakura for only containing the Nine Tailed Beast.
Kushina had done so in the past before Naruto was born and she was loved by the village, she wasn't evil (except when she interrupted Minato's 'private reading' time) and neither did she want to kill everyone like the civilians say about Sakura.
She was the beast's jailor, not the Nine Tailed fox itself.
Minato tried to the best of his ability to provide what he could for the Jinchuuriki, trying to give her enough money to sustain herself, an apartment away from the cruel orphanage, hell he even visited her as often as he could despite his duties. But Sakura was shy around anyone who wasn't Anko or Kakashi. But even though he really would have loved nothing else than to let Anko and Kakashi take Sakura in as their adopted daughter to be loved and cared for like she deserved. But of course politics wormed their way into affairs that shouldn't have concerned him. The Clans, Civilian Council, even some of the Genin and Chuunin from the attack who had lost loved ones wanted to see the demon container dead, imprisoned or in pain, whichever kept the Tailed Beast away from them. Or alternatively in Danzo's case, another tool to use in his arsenal of oppression.
She was just a kid, why couldn't anyone see that?
Sighing once again as he leaned back into his seat Minato decided to take a much more subtle approach to Sakura's pain. He would ask Kushina to talk Naruto into befriending Sakura. That way at least he knew considering how Naruto inherited his father's iron will would never let anyone hurt his friends.
It was then that a chuckle escaped the Fourth Hokage's lips. Part of him was beginning to hope that one day Naruto and Sakura would fall in love with each other and that they would in some way or another mirror how he and Kushina were at a younger age.
Such a silly tangential thought left Minato giggling like a fan fiction writer over their OTP.
In any case Minato decided to put his plan into action tomorrow morning.
xXx
Sunlight peered through the window and into Sakura's room as she cuddled her fox plush she named Kurama-chan, her favourite toy who made the loneliness bearable when Anko-nee-chan and Kakashi-nee-san couldn't be there for her. Sakura loved playing pretend games with Kurama-chan. Her favourite game was when she pretended that Kurama-chan was her best friend and the two went on adventures together.
"Wakey, wakey Sakura-chan" Anko cooed while Sakura slowly awakened before rubbing her eyes.
"Anko-nee-chan?" Sakura asked as her vision focused on the Snake Mistress, glad that she didn't leave her alone.
Getting a sly grin on her face Anko decided to work her magic once again by benefitting on a certain Copy Ninja with Sakura's Puppy dog eyes Jutsu, the most powerful Doujutsu known in the Shinobi world, twice as feared than the Sharingan, more potent than the Rinnegan, and makes Byakugan users cry salty tears of jealously.
"You want some Dango for breakfast?" Anko offered to which Sakura's eyes brightened like the rising sun. If there was one thing Sakura loved to eat more than anything it was Dango. Sakura remembered that when she first met Anko-nee-chan she gave her some of the Dango she was eating and Sakura had loved the sweet dish ever since.
Leaping out of bed Sakura ran to the living room where she found kakashi standing idly before she pounced up on him, knocking the Copy Ninja over.
"Kashi-nee-san, can I have Dango for breakfast pleeeeeeease?" Sakura pleaded as she used her Puppy dog eyes Jutsu making her look just so adorable.
"(So… cute… I just have to buy her dang- No, Kakashi you must resist, you can't allow little Sakura -chan to become like your Dango addicted girlfriend… but she looks so cute)" Kakashi thought as his mind was at war with itself unsure of whether to resist and talk the Pink haired Jinchuuriki into eating a well balanced, healthy breakfast or giving in and letting Sakura eat all the Dango she wants.
"PLEEEEEEEEEEASE Kashi-nee-san?" Sakura pleaded again as she hugged him while still keeping the Copy Ninja subdued with the Puppy Dog Eyes Jutsu, not even an Academy student yet and she was as cunning as the very species she housed within her.
"Anko wants Dango too Kakashi-kun" Anko cooed as she leaned into her boyfriend, kissing him on the cheek while also cuddling him knowing that with the two girls combined power of Kawaii, they would be able to make Kakashi their bitch to get them as much Dango as they want.
"Oh Kami they're both on me" Kakashi sighed, knowing that defeat was inevitable when it came to the two girls and their love for sweets.
"Ahh… fine, fine… I'll get you Dango" Kakashi relented with a heavy sigh although even he couldn't help but smile when Sakura and Anko let out a synchronized cheer of victory. Kakashi might've been as the kids say 'whipped' but having Anko and Sakura was totally worth it to see them smile.
As Kakashi got up and left he heard Anko's finally quip by saying "and be quick about it" as a reminder of how seriously those damn things meant to her.
Moments later Anko saw Sakura playing with her toy fox Kurama-chan like she normally did, but something was off about her. She looked sad.
"Something wrong kiddo?" Anko asked to have Sakura let out a soft sigh with sadness ringing in her voice.
"Anko-nee-chan… am I a monster?" Sakura asked so innocently yet melancholically as if Sakura inevitably knew that she was different from other people due to her tenant inside her body.
"No way, who the hell gave you that idea?" Anko exclaimed, feeling a seething resentment for the villagers who wanted to fill Sakura's head with the visage that she was a remorseless creature of death.
"Then why does everyone keep calling me mean things?" Sakura queried as she remembered the villagers and bad people who made fun of her and hit her just for simply existing.
"Sakura-chan you're not a monster, don't let any of those people tell you otherwise, you're a good kid, it's just that some people area bunch of bakas who're blind, stupid and smell funny" Anko replied getting a giggle out of Sakura for her end quip.
"Does somebody need Dango to cheer them up?" Kakashi said as he peered his head through the doorway holding up the food that Sakura cherished more than life itself.
"DANGO!" Squealed the two girls as they rushed towards Kakashi knocking him over as they took the Dango, munching contently on the sweet delicious food. Kakashi slowly stood back up eye smiling as he saw Sakura smile brightly while consuming the Dango.
"Now Sakura-chan what do you say to somebody who gave you some yummy Dango?" Kakashi queried in a cheerful tone.
"MFFANK MYUU KASCHI-NEE-SHAN" Sakura replied in gratitude, muffled by the Dango she was eating while speaking resulting in Sakura getting some of the Dango sauce getting on her face in complete bliss while eating the sweet delicious food of the gods.
The Snake Mistress and Copy Ninja were in absolute adoration of the display of Kawaii-ness in front of them. It was family-esque moments like that which the couple lived for, a taste of a life that could and should be. But reality would have to eventually sink in as it so usually did.
And that came in the form of their Shinobi duties.
"But I don't want you to GOOOOOOOOO" Sakura whined as she clutched onto Kakashi's leg while he walked, dragging her across the floor as she held on for dear life to the Copy Ninja's foot.
"Sakura-chan please let go" Kakashi sighed as he attempted to shake the pink haired Jinchuuriki off his foot only to have her vice lock grip remain steadfast.
"No" Sakura said pouting as she firmly tried to keep Kakashi with her as she pulled as hard as she could despite knowing that her physical strength would never outmatch Kakashi at her age.
"Sakura-chan you know that we wouldn't leave you unless we didn't have a choice, we are Ninjas of the Hidden Leaf. And as such we have missions to complete" Kakashi stated while Sakura's head lowered in sadness.
"I understand" Sakura replied melancholically, having to accept the fact that she couldn't always be with Kashi-nee-san and Anko-nee-chan.
Anko wanted nothing more than to stay with Sakura and keep her company but she had to report to the Hokage for mission assignments, completely torn between duty and desire. It was all she could do not to slap Hokage-baka in the face and yell at him for letting her and Kakashi not adopt poor little Sakura-chan.
Placing her hand on Sakura's should Anko decided that it's about time to teach Sakura about Chakra manipulation. Anko knew that Sakura was nearing the age in which she would enter the Academy. And the Snake Mistress had discussed with Kakashi many times in the past that she wanted Sakura to learn the values that they had learned to become a true Kunoichi. It frightened Anko to think that in an alternate universe Sakura would have joined the Academy just to get into an Uchiha's pants like most girls who're trying to attract boys rather than protecting those they care about the most.
"Hey Kiddo, I'll tell ya what. When we get back me and Kakashi-kun are gonna teach you how to use Chakra and teach you about being a Ninja, sound cool?" Anko suggested making Sakura's eyes light up even going as far to let out a smile.
Sakura didn't know much but she knew that Anko-nee-chan and Kashi-nee-san were Ninjas and that ninjas were boys and girls with the headbands and really cool power move thingies called jutsu.
Sakura wanted to be cool like Anko-nee-chan and Kashi-nee-san so she wanted to be just like them when she grew up.
"YEAH!" Sakura exclaimed as she raised her fist in the air happy that she could take her first tentative steps into being a ninja.
"That's the spirit, now be a good girl, brush your teeth, don't stay up too late and don't eat too much junk food" Kakashi said Ruffling her hair as he eye smiled before disappearing in a burst of smoke.
"We'll be back soon Sakura-chan" Anko spoke as she hugged the Jinchuuriki tightly.
"Also eat Dango, I don't care what Kakashi-kun says" Anko added getting a giggle out of Sakura who nodded in agreement before Anko leapt out of an open window, front flipping in a Matrix-like fashion looking totally badass in the process.
Wishing to stave off depression Sakura ran back to grab Kurama-chan and head to the playground to have another adventure with her toy fox. "Lets go Kurama-chan! I'm gonna be the best Ninja ever!" Sakura exclaimed before she locked up her apartment and ran off to the playground.
xXx
"I'M GONNA BE THE BEST HOKAGE EVER SASUKE-KUN BELIEVE IT!" Naruto remarked fist pumping as he raised it into the air triumphantly as if to issue a challenge to the Uchiha.
"Not if become Hokage first" Sasuke remarked cockily in response to his best friend performing the Uchiha smirk that radiated a sense of confidence in himself.
Sitting over on a bench the two Uchiha and Uzumaki women chuckled at the sight that lay before them. The irony that unlike Minato and Fugaku's bitter rivalry Naruto and Sasuke were best friends with one another.
The two were so close to each other the two often wished they were brothers, and judging by their interactions together they might as well have been. They had fun, they tried to outmatch each other but above all else they took care of one another as if they were family.
If anything they were the male equivalent of how Mikoto and Kushina were as kids.
Both the Uchiha Matriarch and Namikaze woman were glad that the two boys wouldn't turn out to be bitter enemies like their fathers were in their youth.
Truth be told both women one day hoped that should Itachi decide not to become the Uchiha clan head that Sasuke and Naruto would finally settle the growing tensions within the Uchiha clan and bring about a stronger unity within the Leaf Village. But Mikoto hated how Fugaku was so desperately trying to convince Sasuke not to play or associate himself with the Namikaze boy in a vein attempt at trying to show his close family that he was in the right.
It was bad enough that Fugaku was trying to mould the minds of the more arrogant Uchiha clan members let alone Mikoto's two sons. Thankfully Itachi knew better than her husbands skewed ideals and thanks to the ANBU Captain's influence on Sasuke plus his close friendship with Naruto Sasuke would more than likely side with his older brother and mother on the matter.
Even still, Mikoto knew that it wouldn't change anything given how the number of people Fugaku convinced was slowly starting to grow larger with each passing day.
"What's wrong Miko-chan?" Kushina asked noticing her best friend growing distant.
"Don't worry about it Kushi-chan, I was just thinking" Mikoto answered as she looked on to Sasuke and Naruto playing Ninja and having the time of their lives.
"I guess in many ways I'm just glad that Naruto-kun lead a happier life than what could've been" added the Uchiha matriarch as her mind wandered to the thought of Naruto being the Nine tailed Fox's Jinchuuriki just as Kushina once was.
Kushina's smile was lost as she reflected on the pink haired girl who now housed the Nine Tailed beast. Unlike Kushina herself the knowledge of Sakura's status as the Kyuubi's jailor was public knowledge, and as such she was subjected to abuse that Kushina was thankfully spared from. But worse than that Sakura didn't have the comfort of having somebody to help her through the process like Kushina with her grandmother Mito Uzumaki.
Sakura bared her suffering alone, a loveless, painful existence that was only sustained through Kakashi and Anko's interference despite their reputation going under just for the current Jinchuuriki. Many times in the past Kushina wanted to be there and go against the Village's prejudice and protect Sakura from the villagers wrath. But she couldn't.
Much like Minato Kushina too learned of the true responsibilities of a Hokage, it went beyond everything she dreamed being a Hokage would be like as a child. The political side that dealt just as much damage as an enemy attack, only much more subtle. Kushina's emotional side wanted to say fuck the village and go to Sakura but her intellect knew better than to upset the clans and people, nothing could have been gained from mindless action without thinking of the consequences.
But it was when Minato suggested his plan last night that Kushina smiled that she could finally do something to help Sakura. Have her son befriend the Nine Tails vessel.
And despite Kushina not telling Minato, she too saw how that if Naruto-kun could befriend the current Jinchuuriki that she hoped Sakura and Naruto would fall in love like Kushina did with Minato and that soon they would kiss and then have children and lead the next generation of Leaf Nin to prosperity.
But that would be something she would save for a fan fiction later down the road… her most well kept secret.
As the red headed woman's eyes scanned the area out of an idle look around, Kushina spotted a pink haired girl on the swings, alone and saddened in expression holding a little toy fox in her arms, cuddling the toy.
"Miko-chan watch the kids, I'm gonna go talk to her" Kushina rushed out as she left to speak with Sakura and put Minato's plan into action, but also to show Sakura that she wasn't alone as a former Jinchuuriki herself.
xXx
Lightly pushing herself as her feet pushed against the dirt Sakura watched on from the swings as the other kids played with each other and had fun.
She knew that she would never be like them, the kids made fun of her big forehead, and sometimes the kids told her that their parents said that she was a monster. Sakura wanted to believe what Anko-nee-chan said, that she wasn't a monster. But she was losing hope that anyone would ever love her except for the two important people in her life. Sakura watched as she saw the black haired boy and the blonde boy play Ninja off in the distance, both of them looking so happy.
Was that what it was like to have friends? to be truly happy? Sakura wasn't sure anymore. Tears threatened to spill from the Jinchuuriki's eyes as she envied those kids playing Ninja with each other.
A sudden spike of anxiety kicked as Sakura saw a red haired woman heading at a quick walking pace towards her. Sakura knew that the only times that happened was when people were going to hurt her. She had to make a run for it before it was too late.
Jumping off the swings Sakura bolted away from the playground as she pelted past the people of the village shooting glares at her not caring about them as the girl's mind was focused on escaping that scary lady who was chasing her.
"(Damn it I just wanna talk to her)" Kushina cursed, giving chase kicking herself that she had frightened her off.
Managing to corner the Jinchuuriki Kushina found Sakura in an alleyway noting the panic on her face, nervously shaking as she cuddled her toy fox Kurama-chan as a form of comfort.
"Stop… please I don't want to hurt you" Kushina spoke only having Sakura shyly shrink away on the verge of tears as she held her toy fox tightly. Kushina noticed the fear on Sakura's whisker marked face and decided to take a friendlier tone and a much more lighter tone of conversation unrelated to Minato's plan… yet.
"Who's your foxy little friend?" Kushina asked cheerily hoping that Sakura would be put into a state of ease if she were around a friendly presence.
"Kurama-chan" Sakura replied quietly.
"She's really cute, like you" Kushina commented making Sakura's whisker marked cheeks blush. Nobody ever called her cute except for Anko-nee-chan and Kashi-nee-san, who was this lady with the red hair?
"A-are you going to hurt me?" Sakura queried shyly only to receive a lighthearted chuckle from the woman.
"Of course not, You're just too adorable" Kushina squeed as she hugged the Pink haired girl, "especially those whiskers, SOO CUUUUTE!" added the red haired woman making Sakura smile as she had found someone else who actually liked her.
"Thank you miss" Sakura replied in gratitude for the compliments.
Upon finally winning the child's favour Kushina decided to introduce herself.
"My name is Kushina Namikaze, what's yours?" Kushina asked.
"Sakura… I don't know my last name, all I know is that my parents are dead" Sakura replied sadly as she never knew her parents or even her last name with the only answer she ever got from people were that she was the daughter of a whore and a drunk who didn't love her.
Noting the young girl's saddened expression Kushina decided to change the subject to something that would lead to getting her and Naruto-kun together, Ninjas.
"Sakura, what do you want to be when you grow up?" Kushina asked in a cheerful tone.
"I wanna be a really cool and powerful ninja" Sakura replied excitedly as she raised her fist into the air triumphantly.
"(Looks like Naruto-kun's gonna have another rival to worry about soon)" Kushina thought happy that with a push in the right direction both Sakura and Naruto would be rivals gunning for the position of Hokage which hoping that all went according to plan would mirror how she ended up with Minato.
"So you would like to be Hokage then?" Kushina asked making Sakura's head tilt in confusion.
"What's a Hogake?" Sakura asked mispronouncing the village Leader getting a laugh out of Kushina.
"Hokage sweetie, it means you will be the most powerful Ninja in the village as well as it's leader" Kushina answered practically seeing the gears turn in the child's head.
"So that means I will be as cool and powerful as Anko-nee-chan and Kashi-nee-san?" Sakura asked wondering if it was possible to surpass the two people who Sakura looked up to the most.
"Believe it" Kushina replied with confidence in Sakura achieving her dreams.
"Then that's what I wanna be, I'm gonna be a Hogake!" Sakura exclaimed with passionate excitement.
"Hokage dear" Kushina corrected whilst anime sweat dropping over Sakura's mispronunciation.
"Whoopsie, sorry Kushina-san" Sakura replied Giggling out of embarrassment.
Now was the time, Kushina decided it was time to introduce Sakura to her first friend her age/future husband.
"Sakura, would you like me to introduce you to a friend your age?" Kushina asked while Sakura's eyes lit up like fireworks in the sky.
"R-really?" Sakura stammered pinching herself to see if she was dreaming all of this.
"Yep, my son Naruto, you wanna meet him?" Kushina asked to which Sakura nodded her head grinning a toothy smile as she was ready to meet her new friend and rival in both Hokage contender and love.
The two soon left off from the alleyway back towards the playground in a buzz of excitement. Sakura because she was actually going to have a friend her age that she can play with and Kushina that for the first time she actually had a chance to help Sakura overpower the Kyuubi with love.
Hopefully now things would turn around for the Pink haired jinchuuriki.
"KUSHINA-SAMA WATCH OUT!" cried a villager as she tackled the red haired woman to the ground while other villagers began pelting stones and rocks at Sakura.
"Don't worry Kushina-sama, we'll protect you from the demon!" called out another villager as they began to rush out and attack Sakura, beating her into the ground.
Angrily rising up from the ground Kushina was about to teach those bastards a lesson in fucking with the Red Hot Habanero.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU BASTARDS DOING!?" Kushina queried in a violent rage making the villagers quiver in fear of the Hokage's wife.
"B-but Kushina-sama, th-the demon" spoke out a fearful village who was now face to face with the angry red head.
"You… You want to hurt an innocent child… and you call her a demon?" Kushina asked in a restrained quiet voice as her lips quivered in anger. "Get out of here, and never harm this girl ever again" Kushina commanded still retaining a quiet yet angry voice.
Not wishing to be attacked by the Uzumaki woman the villagers backed off only to reveal that Sakura was gone.
The red head's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates as she went into panic mode as Sakura had run off scared of the pain the villagers inflicted upon her.
xXx
Heavily panting Sakura ran as quick as her little legs could carry her suspecting that the villagers were in hot pursuit of her. The young child didn't care where she ended up just as long as she escaped the bad people chasing her. Everything was a blur, soon buildings and people turned to nothing but forests and greenery. And soon… Sakura was alone again.
"So, the fox has finally left it's den" called out a male voice making Sakura turn around to spot seven Leaf Ninjas behind her.
Shaking nervously Sakura cowered in fear as the Shinobi approached her.
"Listen here ya little demon bitch, you're not fooling anyone here. We know you're just waiting to attack the Leaf Village, so now we're gonna put a stop to that" Spoke out a Leaf Ninja who looked to be Jounin rank judging by how he managed to hold an influence over his Chuunin subordinates.
"NO! I'm not a monster!" Sakura snapped towards the Leaf Ninjas, trying to be brave like Kakashi and Anko were when the bad people tried to hurt her.
"Your temper tantrums prove otherwise. Now hold still and I promise it'll be over quickly" replied the Jounin as he readied his blade for the kill. Sakura not wanting to die fearfully ran for her life ducking and weaving through unexplored land to her as she navigated greenery and trees frightened of her slowly approaching death by the hands of the very Ninja she was supposed to feel safe around.
She wasn't anywhere near as skilled as a Ninja, let alone a Jounin and several Chuunin. They had her hit with Kunai cutting her legs, leaving small cuts across her skin as they nicked her causing the Jinchuuriki to fall to the ground crying out in pain.
"For the good of the Leaf village we will destroy the evil the Fourth Hokage had wrongly let live" proclaimed one of the Chuunin as he had his sword poised in a stabbing position, no doubt ready to end Sakura's life.
"Wh-what are you talking about?" Sakura stammered not knowing what the Ninjas meant by being something that the Fourth Hokage left alive.
"Don't try and fool us, we all know that you are the Nine Tailed Fox taking that child's form" snarled the Jounin in a fit of rage making Sakura's eyes widen as she connected the dots between the mean things people said about her and how it all made sense as to why people called her a monster.
"NO, YOU'RE LYING, I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" cried the Jinchuuriki as Tears began to spill out as she desperately tried to deny what Sakura had known to be true.
"Enough! READY?" spoke the Jounin, indicating that the time for talking was over and that now they were going to kill her.
They all went out into an all out assault on the Jinchuuriki, each one bearing down their weapons as they pierced her flesh, digging in deeper as if to root out the Tailed Beast and kill it themselves.
When their assault finished Sakura lay on the floor bleeding, battered and scarred. The Leaf Nin thought they had won, but they had forgotten themselves in the moment of victory. This child held the Nine Tailed Fox, and it wouldn't take kindly to those who harm its vessel no matter how much the beast hated his prison, if it kept him alive then he would put up with her stupidity.
Red Chakra seeped from her wounds as the injuries began to heal.
"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON!?" exclaimed one of the chuunin who watched as Sakura slowly rose from the ground with her eyes becoming red slits.
"IT'S THE DEMON! KILL IT! KILL IT NOW!" Screamed another of the Leaf Chuunin racing towards the beast with a kunai in hand to finish the job by killing the Nine Tailed Beast once and for all. Intercepting the blade with her palms Sakura twisted the weapon out of the Chuunin's hand before breaking it as she grasped his wrist.
The other Ninja deciding to all attack at once Sakura's mind now cocooned by the beast smirked and took the downed Leaf nin's kunai and leapt into the attack at speeds that were near invisible to the naked eye. And the fact that the child was small didn't help matters for their accuracy in hitting her.
The Fox's Jinchuuriki spared no expense when murdering the Chuunin who thought themselves ready for a battle but instead were mercilessly slaughtered in a bloody frenzy until all that remained was one single Jounin.
"(RETURN TO YOUR VILLAGE HUMAN, INFORM YOUR HOKAGE THAT YOUR ATTACKS ARE MEANINGLESS)" Spoke a deep guttural, inhuman growl that was indicative of the Nine Tailed Fox's presence within the its human jailor.
The Jounin knowing that he wasn't going to win this fight fled to the Hokage in order to prove that he made a mistake in letting the demon live.
Noticing that his host was beginning to find its way back into control the Nine Tailed Fox decided to recede into the recesses of her mind, hoping that perhaps her first taste of death would convince her to destroy the Leaf Village.
Sakura screamed as she law the sights that lay before her.
Clasping her hand over her mouth she watched on in terror as she saw the bloodied corpses of the Leaf Chuunin that she didn't remember killing. Trembling in fear Sakura's mind was panicking that she was a monster like the village said. She didn't want to believe it, she hated this, Sakura wanted to run away before anyone saw this and told her that she must die for something she didn't remember doing.
But before Sakura could turn around and run she saw a cold pair of eyes piercing into her skin. And its owner, a man carrying a large sword on his back, his lower face obscured by bandages. he was seen shirtless, with his chest only covered by a belt to which he attached his Kubikiribōchō, wearing baggy pants with the striped pattern and mimetic wrist-warmers extending up to his elbows, with matching leg-warmers.
It was then that the Demon of the Leaf met her counterpart… The Demon of the Mist.
A/N: I've been meaning to get back to this story and now I've gotten some good inspiration for this story. I'm actually quite surprised that people have taken an interest in this story. So in any case I hope you've enjoyed this beefy chapter to make up for the absence since this I first posted the prologue.